Ann loved the old farmhouse. Since the death of her parents, she had struggled to keep her brothers and sisters together there. Life on the farm was hard and the boys were always threatening to leave. Ann lived in dread of the day which she knew must come when the family would be broken up, and her one consolation was the farmhouse. But New York was growing fast, spreading farther and farther north. The farms that stood in the way were to be torn down and that meant the Lawrence house too The farmers banded together, Ann and her brothers among them, to fight for the right to keep their...

For Janie and Henrietta (called Henry), life was one long stretch of working on a farm in the wilderness of 17th century Connecticut. There were few neighbors, no friends their own age, and their father was still mourning the loss of his wife. But miles away lay the town of New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan, a bustling place with new experiences and a more hopeful future for all of them. So Eric and his girls left for New Amsterdam, where his daughters might find suitors, and he might find work.

However, New Amsterdam was not without its dangers. As The Netherlands and England...